


The Life I Never Expected

by Chocolate_Galaxy



Series: I'm Famous Now? [1]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Angst, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Long, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Tags Are Hard, eventual crossover maybe, my first fanficiton in years, wow a lot of firsts, you'll eventually hook up with Murdoc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 13:17:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16598645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocolate_Galaxy/pseuds/Chocolate_Galaxy
Summary: You were content with your day-to-day life even if others found it a little mundane. But the day your boyfriend leaves you and you lose your home, you call up an old friend to stay with. Little did you know that this decision would utterly shift the course of your life forever. Will you now be able to survive this bat-shit crazy world that the band you're now living with? And will you be able to help yourself when a certain blue-haired singer starts to show interest in you?





	1. The Catalyst

You had always thought of yourself to be a mundane person, but you were content in your mundane life. You had an amazing boyfriend, a steady job and lived in the peaceful part of a small town in England - all of which you loved. So sure, you didn’t live a life full of excitement and constant adventure, but you were okay with that. You’d always say, “As long as I have love, and a roof over my head, I’m happy.” And as far as you were concerned you didn’t need anything else. As far as you knew, things were going swimmingly. Right?  _ Right? _

 

Then again if that’s the case.. Why are you now standing outside of your old apartment, bags packed at your feet as you watch your now ex-boyfriend empty out the remainder of what used to be your shared home.. All the while, you wait for your best friend to come pick you up? The situation made you dizzy.

 

It had all happened so fast. You had just gotten home from work early. You were so excited to have the whole afternoon off and you thought what better way to spend it than to go have a night on the town with your favorite guy in the world? You had just arrived to your apartment complex when you saw a moving truck right outside.

 

_ ‘I wonder who’s moving?’ _ You wondered idly to yourself as you paused beside the large truck. Slowly a soft smile began to dance across your features as you recalled when you had first moved with your boyfriend. 

 

It was your first place together and the two of you couldn’t be more excited. You had been dating him long distance for almost three years. Three years of just biding your time until you both finished high school, spent a couple of years on your own, and saved up enough to find a place and get you both there. It helped that he already lived in England. 

 

Reaching out and touching the side of the truck, you recalled the first day you even arrived in England as if it was yesterday. He had packed up all of his belongings earlier that day while you had managed to sell almost everything but your clothes, your phone, and other small essentials. You had been living in an empty apartment for two days before it was finally time to take the flight that would change your life, and it really felt like this was all your new reality when you got off the plane and found out that your boyfriend had come to pick you up in the moving truck. The memory made you chuckle a bit to yourself as you pulled yourself from the moving truck standing before you in the here-and-now.

 

Making your way inside you hummed a little tune, due to the good mood you were now in. However, your joy only turned into confusion once you saw that the movers were taking items from  _ your  _ apartment. “What the hell?” You splutter, forcing your way beyond the movers to your boyfriend. “(b/n)?! What’s going on?!” You almost shout.

 

“Oh (y/n), I wasn’t expecting you home so soon..” A rather guilty man replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact with you. Despite that, you didn’t back down as you kept staring him dead on with an expectant look on your face. Finally he broke, “Look, there’s no easy way to say this but…” He sighed and lead you to some nearby chairs. “I was offered an opportunity to go abroad for my job. The guy who was originally offered the position had to drop out at the last minute and they extended the invitation to me. I didn’t have much time to think it over so… I went ahead and said yes.” It was only now that he managed to scrape up enough courage to look you in the eyes, “(y/n), I know this isn’t fair to you, but I may never get this opportunity again. I’m sorry, but I’m taking it.”

 

You didn’t know what to say. Part of you respected the fact that he was going after an opportunity so big, so rare; he was grabbing life by the reigns. Something he had been wanting to do for months now. Yet at the same time you felt so… abandoned. How could he just leave you? Did he even think of how you would be affected before he made this decision all by himself? You’re not from the U.K., your home is in a completely different country. Where would you go now? Would this mean you’re going to have to leave England? Questions like this and many more like it only continued to flood your mind.

 

“I’m so sorry… I wish it didn’t have to end this way.” 

 

“‘End this way’?” That’s when it finally hit you. Of course this meant the two of you were breaking up. He was leaving the country for an indefinite amount of time with no guarantee that he’ll ever be back. But… that didn't mean he couldn't take you with him, did it? Did he even bother to ask if you could go with him?

 

Hot tears pricked at the back of your eyes as sudden anger came crashing in to meet your confusion and sorrow, and it took everything in your power not to let them overflow. 

 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw your now ex-boyfriend begin to reach out towards you but stopped short once you recoiled. Instead he simply stood, an expression of pain and sympathy etched onto his face. “I packed your things and set them all in the bedroom. If you’ll excuse me, i have to tend to the movers.” You only had the chance to nod your head slightly before he got up and made his way outside.

 

With everybody now gone you tried to calm yourself enough to think of a place to go. A heavy sigh heaved from your body as you stood to go collect your things. However you weren’t prepared for the sudden flood of emotion that hit you once you entered the now empty room that was once your bedroom. For a moment you simply stood in the doorway, your hand still on the handle, but soon you found yourself hesitantly walking in. 

 

Light poured in through the half-opened blinds, partially illuminating the pastel pink walls you simply had to have. Looking over towards where the closet was you saw that all that was left were a few hangers and a stray sock. You were about to walk over and grab it when a sudden flash of memory suddenly flit across your field of vision, overlapping the past with the present. It took you by surprise at first, but you paid it no mind as you took the sock and folded it. On instinct you went to put it away in the dresser, only to remember there was no dresser. The shell shock was enough throw off your equilibrium, you reached out to balance yourself on a nightstand that was no longer there and the lack of said piece of furniture was enough to send you over the edge. Suddenly everywhere you looked memories cut into the room, almost as if somebody had torn out memories directly from your mind and were overlapping your current range of vision with them collage-style. Pictures of different vacations flickered over the empty walls, clothes of both yours and his drifted in and out of the closet, bodies tangled together in acts of love and solace painted the walls and floor. Dropping to your knees you sat there helplessly as more and more shards of memories flickered against the empty, pink canvas, and before you knew it a cry of pain tore from your chest. 

 

Sorrow seethed from every pore of your being as you held yourself tightly, almost as if you were attempting to keep yourself from shattering underneath the crushing pain that now loomed over you. It took an unknown amount of stretched out moments before you finally pulled yourself together to think somewhat rationally. Where could you go? What respite was there from this place that once held so much love and joy? Was there any place that had enough of a detachment from here that you could claim it as solace? Round and round your mind went as you continued to think of places that might be a suitable safe haven, only for it to have some sliver of a connection to your now lost love. Really though , once your frayed emotions had calmed enough for you to think rationally, you knew there was only one place for you to go. 

 

Pulling your phone from your pocket you made your way back outside and looked up your desired contact. “You better answer…” was all you muttered as you hit call.

 

“Hey (y/n)! What’s up?”

 

“Hey Noodz, I need a place to stay. Can you help me out?”

 

There was an uncomfortably long stretch of silence on Noodles end before she finally spoke again, almost as if she was having an internal battle over whether or not she should ask the following set of questions. “Hey… Is everything ok? Have you been crying? Why do you need a place to stay? Did something happen between you and-”

  
You cut her off before she could say anymore, “Noodle, I… I'd rather not talk about this over the phone.” You tried your best to keep you shaky breath steady, “please, could you, could you just…” A sudden and unexpected sob cut you off, one you tried desperately to choke back but in the end simply couldn’t. “Just-just come get me.  _ Please _ .” You had almost choked out yet another sob but managed to contain yourself before the crushing sensation of sorrow took over you once again.    
  
“Sure, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”


	2. Meeting Noodle

You always loved Noodle. Since the first moments the two of you spent together in the streets of London and it never took much effort to recall the first moment the two of you had met.

 

Your school had the opportunity to send volunteering kids from your graduating class on a field trip to the U.K. over the summer. During one of your nights in London, you and your best friend Kenji had snuck out of your respective hotel rooms and spend the evening on the town, taking the opportunity to explore every nook and cranny while you had the chance. “We’ll just be out until one.” you told each other, a sort of curfew to hopefully help yourselves from being caught out of bed.

 

London had so many splendid sights and you wondered how the two of you could ever part with such a dazzling city. It had everything! It especially tickled your shared fancy for dancing. You had met Kenji during dance classes when you were kids and had been inseparable ever since, so when the two of you saw a group of dancers in a nearby park your whole evening screeched to a halt just so you could watch them. To hell with the curfew, the two of you had found your niche and were going to milk as many moments within it as possible.

 

After some hours of watching the talented people perform and even getting to join in yourselves, Kenji noticed something small shuffling around in the corner of his eye. Looking over he was surprised at what he saw.   
  
“Uh, hey, guys?” his voice rang out, cutting through the music, “does anybody know where that kid came from?” A murmur of confusion arose from the small crowd as everybody followed his gaze towards the direction he was looking at. You were immediately shocked to see the child in question out in the dark. The poor thing couldn’t have been more than ten years old and she looked so lost and confused. Your heart went out to the child and you soon found yourself making your way towards the small girl, Kenji trailing closely behind.

 

“Hi there sweetie, are you lost? Do you need any help finding your parents?” Silence. She only looked at the two of you with an admittedly uncomfortable blank stare before looking around once again in the same confused manner she adorned earlier. Looking up at Kenji the two of you shared a look of concern before you tried again, this time hesitantly reaching out to get her attention. “Uh, excuse me. Can you at least tell us your name?”

 

Abruptly she whipped her head around and started spouting Japanese. How were you so sure this was Japanese? Because that’s Kenji’s second language, it’s also the same language he’s been painstakingly teaching you since your friendship truly solidified. However you were nowhere near fluent enough to pick up all the jabber that this child was throwing at you. 

 

Now that you were feeling thoroughly disorientated you stood and made way from your spot before the small girl so Kenji could tag in. After some moments of semi-cohesive, rapid fire Japanese Kenji stood and turned to you. “Okay so what all did you get?” Really? He was quizzing you now, of all times?

 

“Uh,” you began hesitantly, stammering as you tried to recollect what you had what little you gathered from the conversation that just took place. “Her-her name is Noodle, she’s from Japan, she came here in a crate? She’s ten years old - called it by the way - uhm, she lives in the area with… people,” you gave a sheepish smile as Kenji’s laugh cut you off. “Shut up, anyway, she plays an instrument, guitar i think, and she has no idea how she got so lost?” You sheepish smile grew into something brighter once Kenji applauded your rough and general translation. 

 

“That’s close enough. She actually said a lot more than that, but you got the general gist of what she was telling us.” turning he crouched down and picked up the small Noodle and placed her on his hip, “I told her that we’d help her find her way home - and also to talk slower to you so you can understand what she’s saying- Is that okay?” It took you a few seconds to process what Kenji had just told you and once you did you couldn’t help but hesitantly pull out your phone and check the time. “Come on (y/n), she needs help. And if we’re out all night we can just pretend we got up super early and were chillin’ in the hotel’s garden.” Another hesitant glance at the clock. “(y/n)” Kenji began, now stepping closer to you and dropping his tone a bit so it was obvious he was serious. “Please. She doesn’t speak any English and what are the chances she’ll run into anybody else here who speaks fluent Japanese?” You hated to admit it, but he made some very good points. 

 

With one more look at the large, white numbers glowing on your screen you let out a loud groan. “Fine! Fine. Let’s get her home, the sooner we leave the sooner we can get back.” With a little sound of delight Kenji dipped down a bit to place a kiss on your cheek and, adorably enough, Noodle even followed the males lead and placed a kiss on your other cheek causing you to giggle. “Alright you two! Enough canoodling, let's get going!” Turning to Noodle you gave her a bright smile and took her hand, speaking in simple Japanese, “lead the way.”

 

It took you quite a while to get out to Kong Studios. Had you known that the damn place was all the way out in Essex you would have either left sooner or left Noodle with the proper authorities! Okay that was a lie, but it was still quite an issue figuring out where the studio was and even more of an issue finding a cab in the middle of the night that would even take you out that far. Altogether it took two and a half hours to get there, in which you could feel the exhaustion of the whole day and following evening beginning to weigh down on your eyelids. However you didn’t get a moment to sleep, not with this hyper-active ten-year-old bouncing in your lap and rapidly asking you question after question. But thinking back on it, it wasn’t all bad, you got to practice your Japanese and also got to know the little girl pretty well. By the time the three of you had arrived at Kong Studios she had grown decently attached to you and refused to remove herself from your torso.

 

“Come on, you can let go. You’re home now.” You stated in her native tongue, trying your best to speak in full and complete sentences. How ever she only hugged you tighter.

 

“Stay longer. They don’t speak Japanese and even though they’re very nice i wish i could have someone to talk to.” You and Kenji shared a sympathetic glance as Noodle began to tear up. Kenji knew what it was like to have issues speaking to someone due to a language barrier and you came to understand that pain once the two of you became friends and he started sharing his world with you. 

 

“How about this?” Kenji interjected, pulling out a pen from his jacket pocket and taking Noodle’s hand, “I’m writing down (y/n) and I’s phone numbers. Write them down on a piece of paper as soon as you get inside and don’t lose it, ok?” this earned a sniffle and a slight nod as Noodle waited for Kenji to finish what he was doing before jumping from your hip.

 

“Stay here, it’s not safe for outsiders…. You stay here and I-i’ll call you two later!” she finished off shyly. She really was quite adorable. Giving her big smiles you both nodded happily at the girl as she waved goodbye as the gates opened and closed for her. 

 

You would never forget that night, standing there besides someone as you looked on Kong Studios from outside the gates. Who would have thought that years later you’d be back, standing in the exact same spot with radically different circumstances. Instead of simply being and outsider looking in, you’d now be able to finally set foot on these strange grounds - something you thought you’d never do.

 

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come in?” Noodles adolescent voice asked, pulling your drifting mind from your prolonged flashback. She sounded slightly winded and when you turned around you noticed it was because she had a good chunk of your things in her arms. 

 

“Oh Noodle you didn’t have to grab so much.” You begin as you make your way towards her with open arms only for her to jerk away from you.

 

“No, no, no. Don’t worry. Me and Russell have everything taken care of, you just go inside and meet you two new temporary roommates.” she stated a little playfully, jerking her chin in the direction of the house before making her way towards it herself, Russell following in toe. It took you a few more seconds to finally get your legs to move.

 

_ ‘Go meet my temporary roommates? I haven’t even gotten a chance to officially meet the guy who’s helping me move all my crap. How am i supposed to just greet two men i’ve never met before if i can’t even greet one i’ve spend the past hour and a half in a car with?’  _

 

The walk up the little hill didn’t take as long as you were expecting but you were honestly pretty winded once you got to the the front door. I guess this was just something you were going to have to get used to. However once you opened the door your mind went from thinking about how on fire your lungs felt to how much you  _ loved _ Noodle. For all the years you two had been talking to each other and all the photos she’s sent you of her home, you knew exactly how much of a pigsty this place usually was. But not today, oh no, today the place looked immaculate! Not only that it was decorated with balloons, streamers, and a sign - that was obviously made with the a tablecloth - that said “Welcome” in large, sloppy letters. Being as nobody was by the door to greet you, you decided to start looking around your temporary home. This journy only made it clear that a few rooms were crammed with junk and while others hadn’t even been touched at all. You couldn’t help but laugh upon seeing this though, it was the thought that counted and after all you were coming on short notice anyway.

 

“Do you like it? I had the guys help me! I made sure everybody had a task and me and Russell did as much as we could before we went and got you!” Noodle replied triumphantly as she came up behind you and set your things down gently beside herself, “you were really hard to find, not that i blame you though, we have so many rooms! Oh speaking of which, come with me, i’ll show you which room you’ll be staying in while you’re here.” With little effort Noodle reached down and lifted the large stack of items she was carrying and began making her way to your new room with you following closely behind. Boy would it be easy to get lost in here. After a few minutes the two of you arrived at what would be your room for who-knows-how-long. 

 

It wasn’t bad. It was a pretty decently sized room - definitely bigger than the one you had before now. And it even had a window for you that looked out towards… a graveyard? Not the most welcoming site but at least you had direct sunlight available to you, so you chose to focus on that instead. As you continued to look around Noodle began to unpack your things for you, a feat you soon began to help her with so this room would start to feel a bit more like home for you. 

 

At first it took a few hours for you to unpack what you had and you thought it would take even longer when Russell arrived with what was left, but with the help of an extra body you managed to at least get the bare essentials out, such as your desk and lamp, you nightstand, all your clothes, your toiletries, and you even got your bed made. You were about to get started on a bookcase when Noodle’s phone began to ring. Taking a moment you couldn’t help but overhear her side of the conversation.

 

“Moshi-moshi? Ah, hey, where are you two?..... sure food sounds great!.... I think we can meet up, where did you two go?..... Okay, we’ll be there in a few minutes then. Make room for three more people! See you soon!” After her call ended she soon turned her attention to you and Russell, “That was Murdoc, he said him and 2D went out and got us a table at a nearby restaurant. Are you two hungry?” It didn’t take long for your loud stomach to answer for your, earning a hearty laugh from Russell.

 

“I think her stomach speaks for the both of us. Let’s go.” He chuckled again with a little grin playing on his lips. This honestly surprised you being as you hadn’t really said more than two words to the large man and now you somehow made him laugh? Guess he was sweeter than you realized... Guess you had a lot more learn then you thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While discussing the second chapter to this story with a friend on Discord, we both came to an agreement that we should flesh out how the reader and Noodle met and became friends. That way there's a solid foundation as to why the reader would turn to Noodle when her life turns to shit lol.  
> Just a heads up! There are going to be sporadic inconsistencies starting from the next chapter on! Please be gentle!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh sweet baby jesus i literally haven't written anything in 5 years and suddenly i'm gonna tackle this monstrosity! Wish me luck people and please feel free to leave comments and critiques in the comments!  
> I have a set story in mind so we'll see how far i can get into it!  
> This came from a self indulgent concept i was dabbling in with a friend and while i tried to edit the concept to fit a more general audience there are some things that just don't work in the story without certain self-indulgent plot points - sorry! Hope y'all enjoy nonetheless. See you next time, thanks for reading! <3


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